“A man is not idle because he is absorbed in thought. There is visible labor and there is invisible labor.” – Victor Hugo

What do you do with your ideas? How do you bring them to life?

Are you a “sit down and do the work daily” type person?

A “prototype fast and launch before you’re ready” type person?

Shelve your ideas until you feel compelled to work on them?

Have you ever had a good idea and felt pressure to flesh it out before it falls to the wayside? Hurriedly experimenting with options that will bring a final result? Sometimes I find myself here, and honestly, it’s not the most pleasant mode of creation for me.

This episode of Jeff Goins’ podcast, with guest Rob Bell, was quite helpful. Perhaps it’s just what you need right now, too.

Jeff asked Rob about his creation/work process and in addition to the longstanding advice of “sitting down and doing the work” he also offers this gem:

“If I do have an idea, I’m trying to think about — oh I just had an idea for another thing I’m going to do and I just jotted it in my phone and then next week the idea will probably be a little bigger and the following week after living with it for two weeks, the idea will probably have grown, it will just grow and eventually it will be something. It will be a book, it will be a show, it will be a tour, it will be something, that’s kind of how it works.”

There is no force involved in his method of nurturing ideas. He sits with them. He trusts that they will develop and grow. His method of creation isn’t a firework moment of genius but a slow and steady process that flows over time.

What shifts can you make in order to nurture your ideas in this way? With more ease and grace. With more trust and confidence. With more faith and hope.